DES MOINES, Iowa (IOWA CAPITAL DISPATCH) – Senate Majority Leader Mike Klimesh said Wednesday he plans to introduce legislation allowing carbon sequestration pipelines and other utility infrastructure more ability to deviate from their state-approved route in an effort to address concerns about eminent domain.

Klimesh said at the Westside Conservative Club he knows “we’ve had some some issues and some disagreements up there” about how to tackle the issue of eminent domain, but said “I think this is the year we fix that.”

The use of eminent domain in carbon capture pipeline projects — namely, the Summit Carbon Solutions project — was one of the most high-profile issues during the 2025 legislative session. The Iowa Senate voted to send a bill to Gov. Kim Reynolds in May after a group of 12 GOP senators had signed a letter stating they would not vote on budget measures until the eminent domain proposal was debated. Reynolds vetoed the legislation in June, saying it “combines valid concerns with vague legal standards and sweeping mandates that reach far beyond their intended targets.

Klimesh on Wednesday pointed to a failed amendment proposed by Sen. Mike Bousselot, R-Ankeny, as a path forward. Specifically, he highlighted a provision allowing companies to seek voluntary easements for their project outside of the IUC-approved corridor instead of using eminent domain.

“I think the fix is simply allowing that corridor to be widened, and allowing the utility companies or constructors of infrastructure to find willing landowners, that want to participate, that want to enter into those easement agreements,” Klimesh said. “So I’m working on a bill myself that I’ll introduce the first week that will widen that corridor to 10 miles on either side of the notice corridor.”

He said Iowa is “unique” compared to other states by not allowing utilities and companies more deviation from the corridor approved by the state. His proposal would address this issue, he said, allowing projects to move forward without putting Iowans’ property rights at risk.

“I think, at the end of the day, that allows me to exercise my property rights, by denying access to my property, it allows my neighbor to exercise their property rights by entering into a voluntary easement,” he said.

The bill vetoed by Gov. Kim Reynolds was made up of multiple measures initially passed by the Iowa House, including changes to the definition of a common carrier, setting new requirements for the Iowa Utilities Commission and expanding who can intervene in IUC proceedings, as well as increasing insurance requirements to cover any damages to property and reimburse landowners for increases in premiums related to pipelines.

The Sierra Club sent out a news release Wednesday with statements from landowners criticizing the proposal to make changes to the corridor system, instead calling for legislation “removing eminent domain powers for carbon pipelines. ”

“There cannot be a discussion of widening a pipeline corridor unless there is first a law that eminent domain cannot be used for CO2 pipelines,” Brian Jorde, an attorney who has represented landowners in pipeline lawsuits, said in a statement. “Expanding the corridor does not protect existing targeted landowners or future targeted landowners that simply want to live without the daily threat of a hazardous CO2 pipeline because the hammer of eminent domain remains over their heads. Iowans deserve real respect and lawmakers’ commitment to their basic rights.”

Another attendee at the event, Lori Stiles, alleged Senate Republican leadership chose to remove certain people from their committees and chair positions “who maybe are ones that didn’t vote the way you did on the eminent domain bill.”

“How does that make Iowa (look) like a republic?” Stiles said. “Because it kind of looks like an oligarchy, or at least a good old boys’ club at this point to me.”

Klimesh answered that “loyalty” played an important role in the Iowa Senate Republican caucus.

“I would say one of the, one of the foundational pillars of the success of the Iowa Senate Republicans has been loyalty,” Klimesh said. “Loyalty to the caucus, loyalty to each other. We made some tough decisions, we’ve moved to Iowa in a lot of great directions, and that required that loyalty. And when we don’t have that loyalty, makes all of our jobs that much more difficult.”

Please read the rest at:
https://www.kcrg.com/2025/12/18/pipeline-issue-be-discussed-early-2026-legislative-session-gop-leader-says/#qk4k2h0b8re1n06qxd5uplhzm3bcddbq4

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